The Grassside Girls
by phineas81707
Summary: What happened on that night, six years ago? And how did Hilda and Rosetta react to it? Just how did everyone get where they did? Questions may be answered in these short chapters. (Spoilers for What Is Good, Really? and Revenge Is A Dish Best Served Ice Cold)
1. The Attack

"Morning, Hilda!" Marlon said, looking up from his forms to see the promising ten year old Scout. She wore a vest and shorts, and her Grassside Girls sash was borne prominently. Her hair was long and messy.

"Morning, Scoutmaster!" she said back. She turned around, and beckoned to a girl around the corner. She followed Hilda nervously. She was wearing a shirt and a skirt, and her sash looked a little too big for her. Her hair was neatly tucked up into two sweeping odango. Marlon checked his notes, and found that this was Rosetta.

"Morning, Rosetta," he said gently. Rosetta was six years old and seemed to flinch at the sight of Marlon. Sure enough, she did so again, pulling herself into Hilda's side. Marlon sighed. He had no idea what the Grassside Girls were supposed to do with her.

"Scoutmaster, I was wondering if I could privately train this one? She's good… almost better than me," Hilda asked.

"Of course you can! She's not going to learn much from me as scared as that, is she?" Marlon said. Hilda nodded, and took Rosetta to another room.

* * *

"Hello, Marlon…" a man said as Marlon was on his morning run. He had green hair, a red eyepiece, and was clad in a garment strangely akin to an ornately carved chess rook.

"Hey, whatup, big dude? I'm gonna have to ask you what you're doing in Humilau, though!" Marlon insisted. The man licked his lips.

"A little Pidove told me I might find a young girl of immense potential here. I was simply curious if I could actually find out some more about her," the man said.

"Well, here at Humilau, the girls only leave at the consent of the girls, or on holidays. Since it ain't no holiday right now, you'll need the girl's consent. Happen to know who you're looking for?" Marlon said, gesturing to the Grassside Girls who followed him. The man looked among them. He shook his head.

"Well, tough luck, friend! There are only two Grassside Girls not here, yo. Both are in the Lodge, and good luck getting either to budge. The small one's terrified of me, she'll be terrified of you. And I don't think Hilda will let that small one go," Marlon told him, pointing towards the wooden building that served as the Grassside Girl's Lodge. The man curled his lip in distaste.

"I must insist on taking her as the general of my army. There's nothing you can do about it, surfer boy!" the man roared, and sent out a Bouffalant. The Bouffalant charged towards the Lodge.

* * *

"Rosetta, you have to know your Pokémon in and out," Hilda encouraged. Rosetta sent out her Cottonee, and knelt down to face it. She started to size it up, thinking about its good tactics.

_"__Little girl, watch what I can do!" _the Cottonee exclaimed. Taking aim at a vaguely-shaped dummy, Cottonee let out a tuft of energy, and shot a Leech Seed at it. The attack flew so fast, the dummy fell on its back.

_"__Not many Pokémon can Leech Seed that fast!" _Cottonee said triumphantly.

"Oh… if only I could understand what you're saying!" Rosetta moaned.

*Crack*

Hilda and Rosetta's heads whipped around. They stood absolutely still, waiting to hear the sound again.

*CRACK*

The sound was a lot louder, and Hilda and Rosetta were knocked off their feet by the accompanying tremor. Rosetta leaped to her feet, and tried the door. There was a jam somewhere in the wood, and the door wouldn't budge!

* * *

"Little girl! Come out and play!" the man called out sadistically.

"MARLON! HELP!" a young girl cried out. Marlon jumped, and grabbed a Poké Ball from his belt. He swung it around.

_Scoutmaster Marlon sent out Jellicent!_

_Team Plasma Ghetsis sent out Eelektross!_

"Don't try anything heroic, Marlon. Your girl is going to join my army, and there's nothing you can do about it!" Ghetsis taunted. A Grassside Girl stepped forward, Pokémon at the ready, but Marlon held a hand out.

"He's too dangerous. I will fight him alone," Marlon said gently, yet firmly. The Grassside Girl stood down. While Marlon's attention was diverted, the Eelektross used a Wild Charge to finish off the Jellicent.

"That was my… we're outmatched, girls!" Marlon said in fright. The Girls crowded behind his back, terrified of the Eelektross. Ghetsis wasn't paying attention. He was staring at the Lodge, which Bouffalant continued to smash.

* * *

With another *CRACK*, Hilda and Rosetta were flung at the side wall, and a small wedge appeared in the cabin's side. It was large enough to admit just one person, and with a terrifying moment of realisation, they heard a loud, snarling dragon. They both realised that, if one of them were to get out, the other wouldn't have a chance.

"Rosetta! Save yourself! I will stay behind if it means that you get your chance at life!" Hilda said. Rosetta shook her head. She grabbed Hilda by the shoulders, and shoved her through the gap. Hilda looked back. The cabin was crushed under a Hydreigon. Ghetsis strolled up to the cabin, and poked around the ruins of Rosetta's final resting place. Hilda turned away, and ran to the ocean to throw up.


	2. Survivor's Guilt

"Hilda! Where's Rosetta?" Marlon asked. Hilda shook her head. A Grassside Girl ran up to the two of them talking.

"Couldn't find her in the ruins. We took every single plank of wood, but no sign of her… all we found was this," she said, holding up a long coil of brown hair. Hilda grabbed it, and started clutching it.

"Hilda…" Marlon said tentatively, holding out his hand. Hilda turned herself away, and started sobbing uncontrollably. Marlon stepped back, terrified of what he saw.

"She was my world… She was my best friend… And he… *sob*" Hilda said, running off.

* * *

"We meet here today to honour and pay tribute to the life of Rosetta, and to express our love and admiration for her. We also to try to bring some comfort to those of her family and friends who are here and have been deeply hurt by her sudden death…" Alder read from a podium. The citizens of Humilau City, the Grassside Girls, and Rosetta's parents sat before him. Not a single person wasn't clad in black, nor was there a single person with a dry eye. Especially Alder, as he came upon a passage stating Rosetta's age.

"I'm sorry… I can't read anymore…" Alder sighed, pushing the text away, and turning to where the Lodge once stood. Now, a memorial statue in Rosetta's likeness stood at the exact spot Rosetta was last seen. Hilda was kneeling at this statue.

* * *

"Hilda!" Hilda's mother exclaimed, wrapping her arms around her daughter. "It's so wonderful to see you? Working hard, have you?" Hilda looked up at her mother, and sniffed.

"Yes… Yes I have…" she whispered.

"Hilda needs a break from the Grassside Girls. Please be kind to her," Marlon stated. Hilda's mother nodded.

"Working too hard, I see?" she asked. Hilda coughed.

* * *

Hilda woke suddenly. For a moment, she didn't recognise where she was. And then the events of the days prior began to sink in even a little more. What struck her harder was the callous treatment her mother gave.

_Working too hard…_

Hilda ran from the room, and then from the house. She entered a clearing in the forest outside her home. The full moon shone over the bark of the trees, and Hilda pulled out Rosetta's lock of hair.

"Rosetta…" she whispered, before sobbing uncontrollably.

_I should've died. I should've taken charge, and threw you through that hole. I'm such a coward… _she thought to herself. She felt her Oshawott come out of its Poké Ball, and turned to face it.

"Oshawott… we have to… avenge her…" Hilda muttered, looking at Oshawott expectantly. Oshawott nodded, and pulled his scalchop from his chest. He swung it in a terrifying arc, hitting three trees before it flew back to himself. The sight of the thrown arc gave Hilda an idea.

"Oshawott… you will… *sob* get even stronger… stronger, stronger and stronger still. I want you to beat Ghetsis with one arm tied behind your back," Hilda said, her mind clearing up. Oshawott nodded, and threw his scalchop more and more, thudding into wood with a faster and faster consistency.

"Not good enough… we will get better together. We will find Ghetsis, and we will not rest until he has paid for his crime," Hilda said. Oshawott nodded. He agreed: Excellent wasn't good enough.


	3. Toxic Influence

Rosetta lay on a cold, sterile benchtop. She looked around. The rest of the room was dark. Heavy footfalls sounded, and Rosetta turned to find Ghetsis.

"Who do you think you are, old man? When Hilda finds me, she'll kick your butt a million times over!" Rosetta shouted.

"I don't think that'll happen, little girl. You see, you belong to me now. And if Hilda comes… why, you'll be the one to do the butt kicking!" Ghetsis said cheerily. Rosetta edged away from him.

"Don't squirm, don't squirm, it'll only make things worse… *SMACK*!"

* * *

When Rosetta next woke, she found herself in a different room. This one was empty, and the floor was made of sand, soil and dirt.

_"__Where… where am I?" _Rosetta asked.

"Are you ready, little girl?" Ghetsis commanded over a speaker. Rosetta's head darted around the room. Her eyes were drawn to a far corner of the room, where a door was slowly opening…

Out sprung a Seviper.

Rosa recoiled, and reached down to where her loyal partners should be. She couldn't find Cottonee or Petilil anywhere. In fact, her clothes were changed from her Grassside Girl get-up to a grey jumpsuit with a sinister emblem emblazoned on the left breast. She realised that her new clothes would possibly have a different belt, and started looking for her partners all over. But she couldn't find them.

_"__Fool… this will not take long," _the Seviper hissed. Rosetta recoiled from it, as the poisonous fangs sank into her flesh…

* * *

"You… incompetent… fool!" Ghetsis snarled. Rosetta curled away into a corner of the room.

"Why didn't you transform? Why didn't you fight back?" Ghetsis asked, his words lashing at Rosetta like whips.

_"__I… I can… I can what?" _Rosetta asked.

"If you're going to speak to me, slave, do so in normal words. I can't understand you," Ghetsis snarled. Rosetta gasped.

_"__You… you stole my language? You monster!" _Rosetta cried out, before turning away to sob. Hilda wouldn't be able to understand her.

"…Perhaps you'll be better served on a mission? I'll go get some grunts."

* * *

"I can't believe it! I actually outrank someone!" a Grunt said, smiling as he led Rosetta along Route 19. Team Plasma planned to raid Aspertia City.

"If we pull this off, do you think the boss will let me get a piece of her?" another Grunt asked, looking around at Rosetta. Rosetta snarled, and pulled herself away. She ran into some bushes.

"Eh, not our problem. Boss always did have weird ideas. What's with that N kid, anyway?" the second Grunt said.

"And thus, my fleeting moment of glory is gone," the first replied.

* * *

Nate and Hugh crashed through the trees. They were trying to catch up to Team Plasma, who had just stolen a Purrloin. Nate tripped over on a tree root. He shooed Hugh to go forward. They were only seven, and needed to catch up as best as possible to two grown men. Hugh nodded in understanding, and continued running. Nate groaned, and turned over on his back. A small shriek sounded from his left. He got up, and tiptoed into the forest.

A beautiful girl was lying still in the forest. Her clothes were torn, but a black and white emblem with a blue 'P' was still visible on the left breast. Nate realised that she was part of Team Plasma, and got on one knee. But then he stopped, and knelt back down. A deep, shuddering breath sounded from the girl. Nate took a deep breath, and picked the girl up. She gave a small yelp.

"Rest easy, girl. I won't hurt you if you don't hurt me," Nate said nervously. The girl nodded, and Nate trudged through the forest back home. Small footfalls behind him said that Hugh was following him. He didn't look back to see if he got the Purrloin.

* * *

"Mommy, can you fix her?" Nate asked. Nate's mom had helped the girl upstairs, and placed her on a spare bed. Nate's mom shushed him, and immediately got to work. She worked so fast, it was surprising to see. Most Nurse Joys couldn't match her speed. She finished the work, and pulled herself back.

"She should be fine, Nate. But I don't want you to leave her side. Call me if she stops breathing so evenly," she told her son. Nate nodded, understanding the importance. He drew up a chair, and sat next to the girl's bed.

"So who are you?" Nate asked, peering at the shreds of her clothes. There was no nametag. Unsurprising, considering Team Plasma didn't wear nametags, but still disheartening.

_"__Ro…Rosetta…" _the girl murmured. Nate looked closer at her.

"Rosa?" Nate asked. Rosetta nodded vaguely. She didn't quite hear what Nate said.

"OK, Rosa… you will be perfectly fine. Do you hear me?" Nate said. Rosetta nodded again. Nate's arm slithered behind her neck, and Rosetta sighed in relief.

* * *

"Nate, could you leave the room, please?" Nate's mom said. Nate complied reluctantly. He couldn't bear to leave Rosa. But he did so anyway. Nate's mom, catching the reason behind the reluctance, readmitted Nate as soon as she was done. Nate had to gasp.

Rosa was neatened up considerably. Her long hair was tied up in odango style, and she wore a loose-fitting blue shirt and a yellow skirt. She waved as Nate came in the room.

_"__I owe my life to you, Nate. Thank you," _Rosa said, hugging him.

"Uh… thank you, I suppose?" Nate responded, nervously patting her on the back.


End file.
